Solar Decathalon Showcases the Houses of the Future
North House from Team Ontario/BC
If you happened to make your way down to the National Mall this past weekend, then chances are you caught a glimpse of the innovative homes in this year’s Solar Decathalon.
The Decathalon is an opportunity for college and university students to “design, build, and operate the most attractive, effective, and energy-efficient solar-powered house,” according to the Decathalon’s website.The 20 groups were chosen from a pool of 40 entrants to compete, and were given $100,000 from the Department of Energy to build what they deemed to be the most energy-efficient house possible. The groups are rated in ten categories including architecture, lighting design, engineering and even home entertainment.
University of Lousiana at Lafayette Home Courtesy of Dept. of Energy
The Washington Post’s Elizabeth Razzi toured the final products in this year’s competition and her article in this past weekend’s Post provides a very comprehensive look at the event. Our favorite home that she described was the prototype built by the University of Louisiana at Lafayette:
“[The home] reflects traditional Cajun housing style by way of a “dogtrot” that cuts through the heart of the house. A dogtrot is a covered breezeway, long used in Southern architecture, that keeps the hot kitchen separate from the cooler living and sleeping areas. This dogtrot is updated with transparent sliding doors that can enclose the area when residents want it for an indoor space or open it up to the breeze when they want to use it as a porch. The home is also designed to withstand sustained winds of 140 mph. Extruding parts, such as rooftop solar panels, can be tied down or stored if a major storm approaches and residents need to evacuate.”
If you have not had the chance to check these homes of the future out yet, don’t worry — they are on display through October 18th. In addition to the Louisiana house, we liked the prototypes created by Team Ontario/BC and Team Boston.
See other articles related to: green real estate dc
This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/solar_decathalon_showcases_the_houses_of_the_future/1401.
Most Popular... This Week • Last 30 Days • Ever
Back in 2022, the DC Zoning Commission gave the green light to a large mixed-use deve... read »
Opening for sales this spring, The Brownstones at Westbard Square will feature 101 ne... read »
Donohoe presented plans on Thursday evening for a new multi-family residential projec... read »
Even with two large apartment buildings delivering in Northern Virginia's National L... read »
The main story for the DC region's housing market in February was the supply of homes... read »
- Raze Application Looks To Pave Way For 700-Unit Development in Brookland
- Coming Soon: New EYA Brownstones at Westbard Square in Bethesda
- Early Plans Unveiled For 130-Unit Development in Friendship Heights
- 3 Down, 7 To Go: A Look At The Thousands of Units Coming to National Landing
- The Return of Supply And Four Other Interesting Stats From The February Housing Market
DC Real Estate Guides
Short guides to navigating the DC-area real estate market
We've collected all our helpful guides for buying, selling and renting in and around Washington, DC in one place. Start browsing below!
First-Timer Primers
Intro guides for first-time home buyers
Unique Spaces
Awesome and unusual real estate from across the DC Metro